that's the legacy of nelson mandela. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> the mind of a leader. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in boston. so let me start with this. president obama continues his offense of getting great help from a 7% jobless rate. the best numbers from since the historic financial crisis he inherited back in 2009. and if there's a single powerful insight i got from our time yesterday is that those of us looking at president obama and the man himself are looking at the same reality. we see the right wing attack and obstructing him relentlessly. he certainly sees it. we see the gall of economic justice as the big of our time and so does the president. and so does pope francis in rome. and this economic justice is what's driving him. letting him weather from the right. he wants to help those most in need. but he also said this man who wanted to be a transformational president generally comes when one controls the government. times like the early new deal, the great society,